[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Lots to happy about at this point for the Flames:

Pros:

- Monahan. That is all.
- Backlund has been our best centre IMO. Looks like he's not under the shadow of Iggy anymore.
- David Jones is playing great. Not sure if he's a streaky scorer or not, but he's doing well.
- Brodie is typical Brodie. Wins 99/100 one-on-one battles he's in and still connects with a pass that he has no business making.
- Wideman looks really good on the PP.
- Giordano's playing like a captain. Probably some of the best games I've seen from him in the last year.
- Stempniak's 200ft game is impressive.
- Russel's small. We all know that, but he's elusive and makes a good outlet pass. Can't complain.
- Ben Street. Holy crap. I mean, I knew he could play, but his confidence is growing every game. I can't believe Hartley's got him out there in all situations, even overtime. Good for him.
- The team is putting up upwards of four goals a game, so that's certainly a positive.

Cons:

- They can't hold a lead for the life of them. As a fan, I'm prepared for that. I'm prepared to have that happen. Holding onto a win will come with time, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating.
- Goaltending has been shaky.
- O'Brien and Butler just doesn't work. My god it's frustrating to watch those two together.
- Glencross is being his usual self most of the time. He's lazy, disinterested, sweeps at the puck with his stick instead of moving his feet, doesn't play defence. He's downright frustrating to watch most of the time.
- Converting on 9.1% of your PP chances is atrocious. That needs to get better.

Overall, we all knew this season was going to be tough. But I really like what I see in terms of effort and speed. It's what I was hoping for this season - just a lot of effort. If the outcome is a loss, so be it. Just show me that you can play.